What is Perfect?
by Angelic Pretty
Summary: Atlnina is in love with William, but is too shy to tell him. He's unsure about his feelings toward Yumi and he's pushed away by his former friends. Both are bullied by people as well. They find out they have more in common than thought possible. But after Atlnina gets bullied, she does the unthinkable to impress him. She almost destroys herself in the process. Some anorexia.
1. Snobs Pushes Buttons

_**Hi everyone! How are you all? Here's a new story for you all! I think I'm gonna enjoy writing this story. In truth, I got the from another fanfiction that someone else wrote. I figured this would be interesting to write up. I don't know if this story will be long though. But anyway, I hope you like it.**_

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Chapter 1: Snobs Pushes Buttons

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School was done for the day and all she wanted to do was relax. Perhaps reading, writing stories or poems, and drawing. She loved reading, but not if it was a school textbook, anything related to school assigned research, or those teen girl magazines. Certainly she loved writing even more, unless it was essays or homework.

No, she was never one to conform 100% to society's standards. To her, they seemed just so unrealistic. Yes, she was a very good girl, but she didn't feel the need to be like everyone else. She felt she didn't need to be so thin, to wear overly revealing clothes, to be caked in makeup, or to be a size 0. Certainly she shouldn't try these things to impress him, right?

Deep down, however, she didn't feel comfortable in her own skin, so to speak. She was a shy girl who deep down was very hypersensitive. But she had the biggest heart and intuition out of anyone at Kadic.

She was always described as shy, quiet, sensitive, emotional, and sweet. But she felt very inferior to everyone else and she was bullied constantly because of her low self-esteem.

She was sweet and people took advantage of that by walking all over her, treating her like a doormat.

She was smart but people would criticize her for not being good enough, making her think she couldn't do anything right.

She was pretty, but she wasn't skinny, in fact, she was chubby, but people still called her fat and ugly.

She tried to put up a tough front, but deep down, she was in so much pain…

She loved William Dunbar, a very great guy, but she wasn't sure if he would ever love her back.

"Hey Atlnina," she heard a snobby preppy voice of Sissi Delmas say, "How much do you weigh?"

"140lbs..." Atlnina replied in a self-conscious tone.

"Oh my god, I had no idea you were that fat." Taelia, Aelita's evil look alike said.

"I never thought I was super overweight."

"For a girl of 5 ft. 1 in, yeah you are. You weigh a lot." Sissi said. "You're such a shy wallflower, how would you expect William to notice you? You need to be more like me, outgoing."

"I have a large bone structure." Atlnina said honestly.

"She already does make people notice her: by dressing up as a pastel version of a Victorian child prostitute." Taelia retorted.

Atlnina was offended by her comment. "It's called Sweet Lolita…it's really cute. This dress is from Angelic Pretty. I also have some from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright…"

"Like anyone cares where you get those expensive dresses. But you just look like a big bag of frills." Taelia said.

"The stores are in Paris, which is nearby…"

Sissi added, "Your family is rich, so of course they'll spoil you rotten. It's so weird that you're still so shy."

"Besides, the only reason that you can fit into those dresses is because they have that stretchy stuff."

Tears began forming in Atlnina's eyes. Before they could comment anymore with their insults, she went to cry.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The voice of Aelita came.

Atlnina looked up and said, "Aelita, do you think William will ever love me?"

Aelita looked around and replied, "You'll get him one day."

"But he loves Yumi." Atlnina said bitterly. She also had a tendency to be icy and serious. "I'm not pretty or popular. I'm not smart either…I'm just fat…"

"You're not fat at all." Aelita reassured her.

"Then why won't William notice me? I've loved him ever since he came to Kadic. He's sweet and romantic, not to mention handsome beyond my temptation. He always encouraged me and stood up for me when I was bullied. But now he seems so down, Aelita. He was friends with your group but now I see you guys hurt him. Especially Yumi and Ulrich…"

"William is nice…but that one is complicated…Maybe you're just really shy around him…" Aelita said, knowing she couldn't tell Atlnina the truth behind what happened with William.

"I know…I'm like super shy around him…I can't help it…"

"Don't worry…You'll get him one day…"

"Thanks, Aelita."

"See you later."

"See you later, Aelita..."

She still wondered to herself and pondered this.

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_**Okay, I'm done with this chapter. Chapter should be up soon, but I'm working on my other stories as well. Yeah, like my story "Love and Loneliness", this story will be a bit darker. I love the idea I'm coming up with this story. Before you ask, yes, I'm really into Lolita fashion and I wear it too. But people hate, sadly. But enough about Lolita fashion. Atlnina's character is based off me when I was in my early-mid teens. I'm almost 18 now so yeah...But enough of that, I hope this is good so far. Please R&R!  
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_**-Alyisha  
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	2. Bullying and Misunderstanding

**All right, here's the 2nd chapter. Oh wow, this chapter is really long compared to the previous one. I'm sorry it took a little while to update, but I wanted to celebrate my birthday that passed 4 days ago. So a bit of a late birthday present to myself. I'm glad I got a few reviews already! Okay here it is! Thanks to the 3 who reviewed!**_**  
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_Chapter 2: Self-Conscious, Bullying, and Misunderstanding_

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Atlnina went to her dorm room and worried about what Sissi had said. She went over to the mirror in front of her wardrobe and looked at herself.

'I don't look that bad.' Atlnina reassured herself. 'Sure I'm not the thinnest girl, but that's not an issue…'

There was a knock at her door. Flustered, she said, "Who is it?"

"It's Inlaya and Kandadara." The voice of Inlaya was heard through the door.

Atlnina opened the door to see her two best friends standing there. "Oh, hi Inlaya and Kandadara…" She said sadly.

"It's almost time for swim class. Hey, William may be there…_shirtless_!" Inlaya teased and laughed.

Kandadara gave a rare smile. "Heh, I bet you'll love seeing that."

Atlnina's cheeks reddened in embarrassment, knowing that such is true.

Kandadara's facial expression changed into her usual dark and serious one. She said, "But haven't you two noticed that he seems really down lately? In fact, he always seems upset nowadays. I'll never figure out what had happened to him. I can't even think of a reason why he would act this way. The best way I can put is he had become friends with Jeremie, Aelita, Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi some time ago. But then he disappeared for a few days, which I remember during that time, you, Atlnina was constantly worried about him. He came back totally unlike himself for a few months, which I'll never understand why. But then a couple weeks ago, he went back to normal. Well, I can't say he's totally back to normal because he's all alone now. Now everyone just pushes him away and treats him like a freak. Especially Yumi and Ulrich treat him like garbage. Jeremie and Odd don't really even acknowledge him. As for Aelita, from what I've seen, she tries to be nice to William, but the others aren't being like so. I think Aelita wants to be his friend. But William I could imagine, he feels like an outsider within his own life. I'm not sure if that makes sense."

What Kandadara had said was the basic summary of what had happen with William. Atlnina's heart ached for William because he was so down. She wondered why he was so down but she couldn't bring herself to talk to him. William barely knew who Atlnina was. She figured that to him, she was just a classmate who was too shy to speak a word to him.

"We've got to do something! I can't bear to see him so down." Atlnina cried.

Inlaya sighed saying, "But there's not much we can do. We don't know what happened, so how can we help?"

Kandadara said in a serious tone, "If you want to truly be there for him, then you've got to talk to him as a friend before you can even hope to be his lover."

"I've got to do something…." Atlnina said sadly. "I wonder what happened to William to make him down like this…"

Then a snooty voice said, "It's probably because you're so morbidly obese."

The three girls turned to see the preppy devil, Sissi Delmas. Kandadara gave dagger eyes at Sissi and said bitterly, "You think you're perfect, Sissi?"

Sissi flipped her hair and said, "Of course, I'm pretty, popular, and Ulrich is all mine."

"No, you're just delusional," Kandadara laughed. "Sadly, you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer are you?"

Sissi turned to Inlaya and complained, "Inlaya, why do you hang out with such freaks? You've got the looks of a Barbie, so why do you hang out with weirdoes?"

"Do you really think that looks are the only things that matter? You really think guys only care about that? No, they don't. Unlike you, I actually get very good grades. If you actually did, then maybe Ulrich would notice you, you preppy demon." Inlaya made her comeback.

"Good one, Inlaya!" Kandadara laughed. "You know what Sissi, go out with Herb."

"Yuck, gross, are you crazy?" Sissi said in her annoying high pitched voice. Sissi looked at Atlnina and said, "You have to have your friends stand up for you? You know William would never date a shy girl like you right? He'd never go out with a girl like _you_!" Sissi stomped away, fuming.

Atlnina couldn't help but to be taken aback my Sissi's rude insults. She asked her friends, "U-Um…do you think I'm fat?"

Inlaya turned to her and said, "You certainly don't look it. You're not skinny, but you're not fat either."

Even with Inlaya's reassurance, Atlnina still felt embarrassed because of her body. She asked, "What's your height and weight, you two…?"

Inlaya said, "Why would you want to know? But if you really want to know, I'm 5ft7 and I weigh about 125lbs. But I think I need to gain about 10lbs."

Kandadara said, "I'm 5ft5 and weigh about 150lbs. By society standards, I'm overweight, but my doctor says I'm very healthy. Though people do call me a vampire because of my pale skin, black hair, and dark blue eyes plus I dress like a Gothic Lolita. But I'm perfectly happy with that because that's who I am. I'm happy with me and you should be too. Everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, so the ideal is different for everyone. The only thing that could have a one size fits all is accessories. As far as clothes go, the only time when that happens is if it has lots of shirring. Everyone is different, so the ideal for one isn't for another. There is no set ideal because it varies greatly."

'God, I had no idea I could talk so much.' Kandadara thought. 'But I guess it's only to my friends that I can.'

Like Atlnina, Kandadara was a shy and quiet person. Kandadara could be best described as shy, quiet, serious, melancholy, serious, dark, mysterious, and had a demure temperament. Though she didn't care what most people thought, inwardly she was always very sad. Though she'd never admit it aloud, she had a big crush on Ulrich Stern. Though, like Atlnina, she was too shy to talk to him.

Inlaya, on the other hand, was the opposite of Kandadara. She was best described as outgoing, happy, cheerful, preppy, and almost angelic. She was always described as the perfect girl. But she wasn't snobbish at all, she was very kind. She was very smart like Atlnina and Kandadara, in fact, she got straight A's.

Atlnina said, "I'm going to go on ahead. I'll see you later." She walked away still feeling down.

'Of course it's easy for them.' Atlnina thought bitterly.

* * *

She continued to walk to the rest of the class with her stuff and she reached the class, who was waiting for Jim. Atlnina looked around nervously to see William standing by himself, looking rather upset. She noticed Yumi glaring at him, then turning away from him acting like he didn't even exist. Her expression looked like it crushed him and made his shoulders slump.

Atlnina then felt her heart ache in pain. The sad aura emitting from him made Atlnina want to cry. She wanted to talk to him, but she thought that she'd only make him feel worse.

* * *

William didn't know that Atlnina had feelings for him because his own heart ached. He still loved Yumi, but now she treated him like crap. She refused to even look at him, unless it was a glare of absolute hate. She wouldn't respond to him when he tried to talk to her. But he loved her, but she hated him now.

He clenched his shirt and grinded his teeth, to try to repress the pain. But it was no use, it hurt so much.

'Why did this happen?' He thought. His ex-friends acted like everything was all his fault and they treated him like he was less than nothing. But was it really all his fault? He knew that he had some blame in it, but he didn't expect this treatment. 'I didn't think it would turn out this way.'

* * *

Jim finally arrived and started calling roll and said, "The 9th and 10th graders are going to be combined today."

'Great, now they will treat me like I'm nothing. Of course, Ulrich will have to rub it in.' William thought bitterly.

'Oh no, now Sissi and those other girls will make fun of me…' Atlnina thought.

After everyone got changed for swim class, Atlnina had picked the most modest bathing suit ever. She wore a light pink halter one piece that had some frills and bows with a ruffle skirt. She had her light brown hair in two low pigtails in pink hair ties. She looked at her reflection in the water and still thought about what Sissi had said. Only one word echoed in her brain: fat. Was she really that fat? She never worried about her weight so much before, but now it seemed like it ate at her.

She shifted her eyes to shirtless William. Her face turned cherry red as she took in his sexy features one by one. His serious face only attracted her more. But he still looked down.

She turned to look at her reflection and thought, 'He'd never want to date me anyway…I'm too fat for him…'

* * *

Meanwhile, William noticed that Ulrich and Yumi glaring at him with absolute hate and it just made him feel like crap. Odd pretended not to notice this. Jeremie and Aelita were just talking about random things.

William turned to them saying in the coldest tone, "You know what; I've had enough of this shit."

Atlnina's heart ached for him…

"Why are you even looking at yourself?" Sissi said. "You've got nothing to flaunt!"

Atlnina turned to see Sissi sneering at her in disgust. Atlnina said coldly, "Sissi."

"You need to be need to be taught a lesson, you icy fat bitch." Sissi laughed, and then pushed Atlnina into the water.

Everyone noticed what Sissi just did. Some laughed at Atlnina, some felt sorry for her, and others thought Sissi was a bitch for doing that to her.

William couldn't help but feel bad for Atlnina, so he walked over to Sissi and said sternly, "What the hell is wrong with you? That was seriously messed up!"

Atlnina swam up to the surface and pulled herself up. Her body felt numb but she hurt at the same time. Her vision was blurred and it hurt. Her nose and ears felt clogged up. She was coughing from the chlorine and struggled to catch her breath.

Inlaya and Kandadara ran over to Atlnina to try to help her out. Atlnina fell to her knees, a bit traumatized from the incident.

Inlaya looked at Sissi with a look she barely gave anyone: hatred. Kandadara gave Sissi the same look as well.

Aelita got up and stomped over to Sissi, then said, "You really need to stop picking on her!"

Inlaya added, "You stooped so low this time."

"You're the icy bitch." Kandadara said.

'Why do I always need my friends to stand up for me…? I'm so worthless…' Atlnina thought with sadness. A few tears strolled down her cheeks.

William walked over to Atlnina and said, "Are you ok?"

Atlnina nervously looked up at him and her face turned red. They made eye contact for a brief moment, but then Atlnina looked down shyly. She stuttered out, forcing a smile, "Um…Yeah…Y-Yes…I-I'm fine…"

'Of course, no one will even look at me.' William thought bitterly.

"Well, that's good..." William said softly, smiling a little, but forcing it.

Inlaya and Kandadara both noticed that Atlnina's reaction to William. Inlaya and Kandadara giggled a little bit.

William turned to them and asked in suspicion, "What you two giggling about?"

"Oh nothing…" Inlaya said innocently.

"Nah, we just…uh remembered a funny joke Odd said." Kandadara came up with an excuse.

"You have to mention them, don't you? You all had to put salt in my fresh gaping wounds didn't you?" William said in an icy tone.

Inlaya said, "No, we didn't mean…"

"Oh no…" Kandadara trailed off too.

William got up and said, "I know when I'm not wanted." He saw the center of his hurt giving him harsh looks. He got up and walked away, telling Jim, "I'm feeling sick; may I go to the infirmary?" He sounded bitter still.

"Okay, Dunbar." He said. "Now go."

With that, William left, unable to face them, especially Yumi. He loved her, but now she treats him like shit. He felt horrible.

* * *

Atlnina suddenly felt sad because William left. She said, "Why did he leave…?"

Sissi made another comment, "Probably because you're so morbidly obese. He probably couldn't stand to look at you!" She laughed.

Atlnina started to crying, thinking, 'I guess Sissi's right. William probably can't stand me because I'm a fat ass…'

Sissi continued, "You're probably the reason he's acting all emo. He's embarrassed by the sight of you because you're obese. Lose some weight, fatso."

Atlnina got up and ran to Jim, saying, "I need to go, I'm all shaky…I am…feeling really sick after that incident."

Jim said, "Yes, you may, take it easy today." He turned to Sissi and said sternly, "Delmas, I am going to see to it that you will have a talk with your father about that stunt you pulled. You are in so much trouble."

Sissi complained, "She deserved it!"

Inlaya turned to her and said, "I hope you're proud of yourself, Sissi."

Kandadara added, "Yeah, karma's going to bite you one day. Hard."

They both walked away and the class resumed.

* * *

Meanwhile Atlnina was in her room, crying on her bed. Atlnina thought, 'I don't know what to do…'

She felt beside herself and lost within her own thoughts. 'I can't be the reason William's so down right…? He's upset because he lost his closest friends… Why would he be upset at me if I didn't do anything wrong? But could being overweight really disgust William to where it eats at him…? But that's ridiculous…'

She remembered what Kandadara had said: "But I'm perfectly happy with that because that's who I am. I'm happy with me and you should be too. Everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, so the ideal is different for everyone. . Everyone is different, so the ideal for one isn't for another. There is no set ideal because it varies greatly."

'But you're not made fun of all the time, Kandadara…" Atlnina thought bitterly.

But little did Atlnina know, she was really wrong about that judgment about Kandadara.

Then a thought crossed her mind. She remembered a time when Sissi said she starved herself to become thin, went on a crash diet, ate very little, exercised like there was no tomorrow, and when she ate she would make herself throw up. Now she says guys flip over because she's so thin. 'Starve yourself to lose weight…?'

Atlnina wanted to believe that such was bogus. She did eat rather healthy (though she has one hell of a sweet tooth) and she did exercise (like swimming or dancing) but maybe that wasn't enough. So she came to a decision: she would do what Sissi had done to lose weight. Even if it was unethical, she would do that. If it meant everyone would stop bullying her, she would do it. If it meant William finally being happy, she would do it. If it meant him loving her, she would do it. If it meant the world to everyone, she would do it.

'I'll do that then…'

* * *

At the same time, William was in his own room, thinking about the memories haunting him. He remembered all the times he was possessed by XANA. He remembered it all and it hurt like hell. Sometimes, he wished he hadn't remembered, but he remembered everything. All the times XANA attacked and even with the returns to the past, he still remembered. It hurt him like a knife in his heart. But no, they blamed him for everything.

'Damn it…why does it hurt so much…?' He thought.

* * *

**All right, this chapter really was long. No wonder it took some time to write, but this is where things are starting to get good. I hope this doesn't trigger anything for anyone with an eating disorder. ****But yeah, I think that I may understand the mindset** of someone with one, I have a few anxiety disorders. I really like what Kandadara had said and I think it would be good to remember such a thing. **I'm also going to say that I'm not trying to bash thin or fat people, that's why I put what Kandadara had said. What she says is very true, but no one ever believes that because people can be stupid**. So I hope I don't trigger any eating disorders. I know Atlnina's mindset is getting crazy. Before you ask, she's not doing this all just because of William. But Sissi's being a bitch in this chapter. I'd like to say that I don't hate Sissi or any of the Lyoko warriors. But it made sense on the side of William. What did you think on the side of William? I swear, I think he gets too much hate. It's sad. But there's not much I can do. Anyways, please R&R!

**-Alyisha**


	3. Scared to Eat, Fluff, and Hell

**Chapter 3...I think this chapter was a bit shorter than the earlier one. I feel this chapter wasn't my best one because it feels slightly rushed, but maybe it's just my imagination. Plus Sissi bullying Atlnina as much as she does feels like it's too much. But then, maybe being pressured just makes one fall victim to things. I think it makes sense though. Okay, I hope you like it!**_**  
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_Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Scared to Eat, Fluff, and Hell_

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Atlnina woke up that morning and did her usual routine. But this time, she didn't dress in Lolita like she usually did. She put on a long-sleeved icy blue turtleneck knee-length dress. She styled her hair half-up-half-down with a matching ribbon to her dress. Her lace-up boots were just below the knees and the same shade as her dress. She didn't put on any makeup that day. By the time came that she was all ready for school, the time of day came that she could feel she dreaded: breakfast.

* * *

She arrived at the cafeteria with her anxiety running high. She didn't even know why she came, knowing that if she ate, she would gain weight. She was still hungry, but she figured she would eat lighter. The lunch lady Rosa asked her, "So what is it today?"

Atlnina looked around nervously and responded, "I would like um…just a PB&J sandwich…"

"That's not very much." She said.

Atlnina nodded, "I know but I'm not that hungry." She took her food and sat down with two best friends. "Good morning…"

Inlaya was her usual cheery self and she said, "Hi, good morning."

Kandadara looked up and said sounding serious, "Good morning."

Atlnina only had her sandwich to eat. But even so, she still felt like she was eating too much. Inlaya saw her sandwich and asked, "You're eating only a sandwich? Aren't you hungry?"

Atlnina made up and excuse saying, "N-No, I wasn't that hungry…"

Kandadara asked, "So you just weren't hungry? I don't think you ate very much last night at dinner either."

Atlnina shook her head. "No, I'm not very hungry…I'm just not…"

Inlaya thought, 'I hope she's not trying to go on a diet.'

Kandadara had a similar thought, 'Is she trying to lose weight?'

'I hope they don't see right through me…' Atlnina thought, feeling worried.

"Oh god, you're actually eating a sandwich? Why do you even eat at all?" The voice annoying voice of Sissi came.

"Shut up, Sissi," Inlaya and Kandadara said at the same time, while giving Sissi a death glare.

But when they looked where Atlnina was, she was already gone.

"Sissi, you really are a bitch," Kandadara said, "I can't believe you."

Inlaya nodded in agreement and said, "Find someone else to bully."

"I'm not bullying, I'm just speaking the truth." Sissi said.

* * *

Atlnina stormed out with her food in hand, ready to throw the sandwich away. But then she noticed Odd at his lunch table still looking hungry. 'If I know one thing about Odd, he loves food.' She thought.

So she decided that to give it to him. She called out, "Odd."

The man clad in purple turned to her and asked, "Atlnina, right?"

The others turned to face her. Jeremie asked, "You're Atlnina, I believe."

"You're that girl Sissi pushed into the pool yesterday." Ulrich said.

"Are you ok?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, Atlnina, I'm sorry she did that to you." Aelita sympathized. "When I first came here, Sissi bullied me endlessly."

Atlnina nodded at them, knowing these were the people that hurt William to no end. Atlnina said, "I'm okay, but Odd, have my sandwich. I'm not hungry, so take it."

Aelita noticed a melancholy look in Atlnina's eyes and asked, "Are you okay?"

Odd said, "You do need to eat, but if you really want me to have it, then I'll take it."

Atlnina smiled slightly, but it was a sad smile. She said, "I'm fine…I'm just not hungry. I'll see you later."

"Thanks!" Odd exclaimed in joy.

She nodded and walked off. Inwardly she felt so bitter. She thought it like so, 'I can't even eat now? Am I so fat that I need to stop eating?'

* * *

She didn't watch where she was going and she bumped into someone. The force knocked them both down. A male voice said, "Excuse me."

Atlnina looked up to see who it was. She saw it was William in all his sexy glory. Her face immediately turned strawberry red. 'W-William…?' She thought in a panic.

But it seemed like time stood still. As she looked at him, her face had a deep blush and her heart was beating so fast. Her whole body began trembling. William could feel her heart beating so fast and her body trembling like crazy.

He did get the impression that she liked him, but he figured that such was wishful thinking on his part. 'Yeah, right…' He thought.

He was so close to her, she thought she could lean in and…

William cleared his throat and said, "Um."

Flustered, she pulled away nervously. She stuttered out, "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…I-I didn't mean to…" She stood up, nervous and confused, but then she helped him up, her palms sweaty when their hands were in contact with one another.

William shrugged and said, "You don't have to apologize, it was just an accident that's all. Just try to be more careful next time. You're Atlnina, right?"

She nodded nervously, "Y-Yes I am…"

"Sorry about yesterday…" He said quietly. "What Sissi did was seriously messed up."

"I-It's fine…" Atlnina squeaked out. "But…did I do something to make you upset with me…?"

He gave her a confused look and asked, "Huh? No, not at all and why would I be mad at you? …"

"Never mind…" Atlnina trailed off.

Her stomach was growling like crazy. William heard this and asked, "Aren't you hungry? Didn't you eat?"

"I-I'm not hungry…" Atlnina lied.

He looked at her intensely, but he decided to let it go. "I'll see you in class." William said as he started walking. He looked back to look at her and he nodded at her.

'I wish that moment would last forever.' Atlnina thought as she watched him longingly.

* * *

While Atlnina was standing there all amorous, the Lyoko warriors sneered at the scene they just saw.

Ulrich said, feeling disgusted, "Okay that was too sickly sweet for me."

Yumi nodded, "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Odd said, "I love sweets, but that was too much for the sweet tooth."

Jeremie examined Atlnina, who was blushing fire and looked lovesick. He said, "I think she's in love."

Aelita added to what Jeremie said, "She is in love with him."

After Aelita said that, that made Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi have a disgusted look on their faces. They said at the same time, "Ugh, that's disgusting."

Atlnina heard the three say that, so she turned to them and said in a slightly annoyed tone, "What's wrong?"

"That scene was…" Yumi said and her eye twitched.

Atlnina knew that group hated William and she could tell by the way they treat him, which was like trash. But she decided to ignore it. She walked away from them.

* * *

Sissi appeared out of nowhere and had witnessed the scene. She said, "You know that William was just being nice right?"

"What do you mean…?" Atlnina asked worriedly.

"He's angry with you. Yeah, I can see it." Sissi said, trying to mess Atlnina's head up.

"Why would he be upset with me…?"

A few of Sissi's bimbo preppy friends were on the scene. One named Brittany laughed at her, "Guys can't stand fat girls!"

Another named Chelsea said, "You're so obese, I'm surprised that you actually don't wear a tent because you should!"

"Stop eating and exercise more, you obese bitch." Sissi said. "Well whatever. Just stop eating! It's gross!"

Atlnina didn't want to cry or show weakness. Atlnina bit her lip and stormed out of the cafeteria. All she heard were the words: fat, ugly, obese, pig, cow, whore, slut, bitch, and freak. Those words echoed in her mind. She never thought so low of herself before, but this she decided, was a true crime to be any of those things. 'Maybe they're right…I hate them…I hate those bimbo bitches!'

* * *

Inlaya and Kandadara witnessed all of that. Inlaya walked up to Sissi and her friends saying, "That was really uncalled for."

Kandadara joined in right after that. "Stop messing with our friend, you preppy bitch!"

"Kandadara, you look like a child prostitute!"

"Oh, stick a sock in it, Sissi." Kandadara retorted in a dark tone.

Inlaya's normally happy demeanor turned angry. She said, "I've had just about enough with you bullying my friend! Stop bullying people!"

The Lyoko group saw this as well, deciding to defend Atlnina.

"She's really nice." Odd said. "At least she's not afraid to eat, unlike you."

"You think that bullying a girl who can't stand up for herself is right? No, it isn't." Ulrich said.

"She's my friend," Aelita said, "You have no right to bully a girl who's never done anything to you."

* * *

Though, in all the irony, William was not at this scene. After he said goodbye to Atlnina, he had gone off by himself because he had felt the glares he got from his "ex-friends". He didn't know that Atlnina was crazy in love with him. Somehow had a bad feeling that lingered in his mind, but he knew that this time it wasn't XANA or the others. Something else was haunting him, but he wasn't sure what. 'What's this feeling…?' He thought.

* * *

**Damn, this chapter had too much drama. But anyway, I guess the "bimbo bitches" are pushing Atlnina to fall victim to an eating disorder. With constant bullying, it can push someone further into depression. Anyway, I enjoyed writing the fluff moment because I love romance. But yeah, I also like emotional tension so expect more of that :D! Yeah, I wonder what William's "haunting feeling" is but we'll wait and see. But yeah, William seems so down right now. Is he too upset I wonder? But yeah, the craziness will come soon! Anyway, I'll have chapter 4 up sooner or later. Thank you! Please R&R!  
**

**-Alyisha  
**


	4. Trying Too Hard and Noticing Flaws

_**All right. Here's the new chapter. I'm not sure but I think I am making progress. Okay! I hope you like it!  
**_

* * *

_Chapter 4: Trying Too Hard and Noticing Flaws_

* * *

Atlnina's classes went by rather quickly, but then it was time for physical education. Usually she dreaded this class because she hated running. 'But I can afford to lose a bunch of weight, so this is good for me.' She thought, feeling bitter.

Today everyone would were separated into groups of about 5 or 6. Atlnina wanted to be with William, but she was too scared to ask. But she decided to ask him. Swallowing her fear, she decided to ask him, "W-William…?"

He turned to her and asked, "Yeah?"

She stuttered nervously, but she managed to ask, "U-Um…d-do you want to be in a group with me…?"

William looked at her in confusion, but he said, "Sure."

'Why would she want to be in a group with me?' William thought. But then a thought occurred to him. 'Does she like me?'

During that same moment, Atlnina was inwardly celebrating. 'He said yes!'

* * *

Aelita, Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi happened to see the moment between the two. Aelita and Jeremie were fine with it, in fact, they thought it was cute. Odd was being funny and said, "Oh look it's the lovebirds." But neither William nor Atlnina heard his little tease, because if it had, Atlnina would've gotten so embarrassed.

However, Ulrich and Yumi just looked disgusted at it because it was William. Ulrich hated William with a passion because of what happened with Lyoko and how he'd always be with Yumi. He saw William as a threat for Yumi's heart. He couldn't stand William from the get go.

Yumi simply could not stand William because she can't trust him and because she thinks he's an arrogant ass since the issue with Lyoko. She hates him to the core now because of all of that.

Nowadays, they will not talk to him or even look at him. If they do look at him, it's a glare of absolute death that could make someone either cry or punch their face in. They all treat him like it was his entire fault. Aelita was the only one who was actually nice to him and Jeremie never really talks to him. Odd just doesn't even acknowledge him just because he doesn't.

Yumi had very bitter resent toward William, in fact, it's like she loathes him. She But he wasn't the only one who she had issues with.

She pondered the other people besides William she didn't like very much and couldn't stand.

Of course, the one who took the cake was Sissi Delmas for obvious reasons. She was snobbish, condescending, mean, and a two-faced bitch. She couldn't stand Sissi for many reasons.

Inlaya was always so the so called "angelic Barbie doll". She always was so overly cheerful, eager, happy, peppy, and so optimistic about everything. She also looked like typical Barbie doll with long blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, slender, she was pale, and she dressed in all white. If Inlaya was the stereotype, she would've acted like a dumb blond Barbie bitch that was condescending and mean to everyone she knew, much like Sissi. But, Inlaya actually got straight A's and was really nice. She didn't have anything against Inlaya; in fact, they were somewhat friends, but Inlaya was just the typical angel. Yumi couldn't believe that Inlaya was 100% perfect because everyone has done things they're not proud of.

Kandadara was the quiet, mysterious, sad, Kandadara had a rare look of pale skin, black hair, dark blue eyes, and dressed in Gothic colors. People think she looks like a vampire, especially when she wore Gothic Lolita, which was almost every day. People bullied Kandadara often, but she never says anything back. She was always shrouded in mystery and had a darker demeanor. Yumi didn't like how Kandadara always was so secretive.

Atlnina was the shy, quiet, hypersensitive, emotional, timid, nervous, and overly sweet one. She had pale skin, long light brown hair, icy blue eyes, and was a total doormat. She was way too nice and never stood up for herself. She dressed in Classic, Gothic, and Sweet Lolita on a regular basis which somehow made Yumi think Atlnina was going overboard with it, especially with Sweet Lolita. She thought Atlnina should really defend herself. Somehow, Yumi didn't like how Atlnina would just let people walk all over her. She was sort of friends with Atlnina though.

'But who am I to judge what I don't know?' Yumi thought.

Yumi glared at William with disdain and hatred. William noticed this and it made him feel like crap even more. He looked at her with longing, which just disgusted her.

'He just won't give up…' Yumi thought with anger.

Ulrich had the same opinion of William and Sissi as Yumi did. It was a given to think that of them, at least for the Lyoko warriors.

* * *

But then, Jim arrived, with that the class started and it had had to be what Atlnina hated most: running.

Jim said, "Everyone, to the track. After you are done with 3 laps, you can have fun with sports." He motioned everyone to said area, and then continued, "Are you at the ready. Go!" He blew his whistle and everyone started to run.

Atlnina was nervous because William would see her and she knew she couldn't run worth a damn. 'I've got to do this!' Atlnina thought.

After running around about twice, Atlnina started feeling dizzy and like she was going to collapse. Despite her body about to give out on her, she pushed herself harder and harder.

Atlnina decided to push herself further and further, but her body didn't agree. Her head suddenly develops a splitting migraine and her legs feel very wobbly like jelly. She feels like the world is escaping her and eventually her body gives out, causing her to collapse to the ground.

William ran to her, obviously worried. Inlaya, Kandadara, and the Lyoko warriors followed suit. Of course, the tension between William and the 5 Lyoko group was unbearably awkward. He could feel the hate from Ulrich and Yumi by the look they gave him. He wanted to ignore them, but their presence made him feel even worse. Inlaya and Kandadara noticed the awkward tension, but decided to say nothing about it.

William decided to ignore the awkwardness and said worried, "Atlnina, are you okay?" He put his hand under Atlnina to sit her up, though she was passed out. He cradled her in an embrace.

Jim walked over to the crowd of teenagers and said, "Miss Atlnina collapsed? Did she try too hard and push herself?"

Inlaya asked, "Jim, will she be okay?"

Jim felt for a pulse and then her head. He said, "I think she'll be fine, but she seems very fatigued. I was once a doctor helping people, curing diseases…"

Kandadara said, "So what happened to that?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Jim said.

'Of course…He'd rather not talk about it…' Kandadara thought.

Jim said, "I'm taking her to the infirmary." He picked up Atlnina and carried her to the infirmary.

The silence was still awkward. Jeremie and Odd quickly left. Aelita and Yumi went along with them, Yumi trying to avoid William. Ulrich said to William bitterly, "Stay away from our group."

William said, feeling anger boiling inside of him. "What would you know?"

With that, Ulrich left to go with the others, leaving William by himself.

Of course, William hated Ulrich with a passion. Ulrich was prone to jealousy and it got the better of him. William had his own reasons for hating Ulrich.

He tried not to think about it, but then it got the better of him. His thoughts then drifted to Atlnina. He couldn't help but worry about what happened to her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Atlnina came to the world again. Atlnina asked faintly, "What happened…?"

"I'm glad you're alright." Yolanda said. "From what I heard, you passed out."

Atlnina said, "Oh I see. I'm feeling better now, so may I go?"

Yolanda said, "Well, it's about 5:30 p.m. now, so it's almost time for dinner."

"Oh my…I slept that long?" Atlnina asked.

"Yes, you did." She said.

"Oh sorry…"

"It's no trouble, but be careful okay?"

"Yes, I will…good bye…"

Atlnina left the infirmary and went back to her room. She closed the door and locked it behind her. She pulled a scale out from under her bed, perhaps to weigh herself. She kicked off her boots and stepped on the scale, afraid of what the numbers might say. She highly feared that she gained weight. She shut her eyes tight and braced herself. After a moment, she looked down and saw the numbers: 136.2lbs. She sighed in relief because she lost 4lbs so quickly and happy she didn't gain anything.

She looked in the mirror at herself, but was disgusted with what she saw. In reality, she was a curvy cello shape and she didn't look all that overweight, in fact, she looked healthy. But all she saw in her head was an image of someone who would be 300lbs+. She also saw other so called physical flaws: her skin was too pale (though she can't tan, only burn, so she's naturally pale), her eyes were too much of an icy grey blue, her hair wasn't blonde (it was light brown), and her body looked ugly. Or so that's what she thought.

'I've got to keep trying to lose weight. Yes, maybe about 10lbs would be good…'

She then made a vow to herself, "I will not eat any more than 600 calories a day. I will count how many calories I eat every time I do eat. I must make sure I never even look at junk food. I will get down to 125lbs in a week. I must keep on doing this, fat sack of lard!"

'It'll be better this way…' She thought, losing her sanity bit by bit.

* * *

_**Wow, this chapter really was long. I'll have the next chapter up soon. I swear, I think I'm making the Lyoko warriors too hard on William. I loved writing the minor fluff moment though. Atlnina's slowly losing her sanity, but maybe it's realistic. Her so called ideals are so unrealistic and I think the idea of her developing an eating disorder will be interesting. I've done research on Anorexia Nervosa, so maybe my information will be accurate. Actually, Atlnina's a girl who actually seemed on the bigger side, but in reality, she wasn't all that overweight because of the larger build she has. But, she's going to lose it sooner or later. I thought it would be interesting to ask: a chubby girl with anorexia nervosa? Maybe so, if the symptoms are intact. Anyway, I'm done rambling. Please R&R!  
**_

_**-Alyisha  
**_


	5. Concerned Friends

_**Here we go! Chapter 5! It's been a few days since I updated. Well, there's a lot of drama in this story, this chapter is no exception.  
**_

_**Replies to Reviews:  
**_

_**Mirani: Yeah I've noticed that too, so maybe I'm doing a favor :D  
**_

_**KityKat14: Thanks, I've been working on this story a lot.  
**_

_**LongHairedAelita: Yeah, Sissi and Taelia come off as snobbish to me. I'm glad you like it!  
**_

_**X3: I'm glad you like this story so much!  
**_

_**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy: Well, I'm glad that you think that my writing skills are good. And that this has helped you a lot. That's a great thing to hear, it really is. Yeah, I have body image issues and have self-esteem issues too. Actually, Atlnina is based off me in looks and personality. I have the same features as Atlnina too, down to every last detail. I know how all that feels because of being bullied. But thank you so much. Remember that everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, that's what makes you unique and beautiful. I'm glad I helped you.  
**_

* * *

_Chapter 5: Concerned Friends_

* * *

Over the next month, Atlnina stood true to the vow she made for herself. She hardly ate any more than 600 calories a day (though she would always be starving but she refused to eat), over exercised to the point she would pass out (to the concern of her best friends), developed a massive fear of gain weight, obsessed over her shape/measurements, dropped from 140 to 115 in 3 weeks, and she was literally driving herself insane.

Atlnina's appearance slowly became sickly and frail. Her skin started to go from a healthy lily white to a sickly ghost white. Her once deep icy grey-blue eyes went to a dull, melancholy grey. She once had shiny, beautiful light brown hair but then it lost its shine and went to a dull brown. She was once a curvy cello shape but then she became just a thin rectangle shape. To her friends, she was beginning to look too thin. Even though Sissi told Atlnina she should weigh 90lbs and still looked like a fat sack of lard.

Atlnina always had a fuller figured build and a larger bone structure compared to the other girls at Kadic. Even though she was rather short at 61 inches, she was actually rather healthy when she was 130-140 pounds. Many thought she was pretty, but Atlnina herself had very low self-esteem.

Inlaya and Kandadara noticed the sudden change in their friend, making them sick with worry. Atlnina had also withdrawn from even her closest friends, thinking that she was a hindrance to them and believing that she brought them down.

During dinnertime, Atlnina didn't even show up to the cafeteria, worrying her friends even more. Inlaya looked around for her, but she never showed up.

Both Inlaya and Kandadara sat down at a table, eating dinner. It was unanimous that something was going on with Atlnina. Figuring that she wouldn't come to eat yet again, Inlaya heaved a sigh, saying, "Okay, I really think something is wrong with her, Kandadara. I really do. She hardly eats nowadays, like she's afraid to…"

Kandadara agreed with her. "Yeah, I think so too. She looks like she's lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. I can't even recognize her anymore. She has turned into something I can hardly recognize."

"Do you think she could be…?" Inlaya began sounding rather worried. Inlaya could assume what it could be and Kandadara caught on in an instant.

"Oh god, I hope not!" Kandadara spat out, wanting to reject the idea, but it seemed like it made sense.

Both kept silent.

"Hey, Inlaya…Kandadara…may I talk to you for a minute?" The voice of a girl came.

The two girls turned to see the concerned faces of Aelita and Yumi. Inlaya said, "What's up?"

Aelita hesitated, but decided to begin, "Atlnina's been acting really strange lately…Do you two know what's up?"

"Yeah, she seems totally different lately." Yumi pointed out. "She's got a problem."

Inlaya ran her fingers through her blonde hair, trying to think. "I…think she may have…She may have a serious problem…" She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Kandadara decided to finish for Inlaya, "We are speculating that she might have…" Once again, she trailed off.

"Then we have to help her A.S.A.P.!" Aelita cried.

But then a shy voice that came out of nowhere and said softly, "N-No, I'm fine."

The 4 girls to see Atlnina, who none of them could hardly recognize her. She was thinner than before, but she wore baggy clothes to conceal her body. She was very pale and lost the color in her cheeks. Her eyes were a sad blue-grey and her brown hair became dull. She just looked so sad now.

Yumi gave Atlnina a look of disgust, which Atlnina did notice.

'She's probably disgusted because you're fat…' Atlnina thought to herself.

But actually, what Yumi was thinking was the contrary, 'She looks too thin for her frame size and bone structure. She just doesn't look right anymore…'

'She looks so sickly…She really needs to go back to the way she was before…' Aelita thought.

"Atlnina," Yumi said cutting to the chase, "are you trying to lose weight?"

"N-No…" Atlnina replied, though her answer was a lie.

"Then what's with the sudden and much weight loss?" Aelita asked.

Atlnina thought up an excuse. "No, I just haven't been very hungry lately. I guess I must've lost a few pounds." She forced a smile and then tried to fake laugh.

Kandadara looked at Atlnina with a serious and stern gaze and said in like tone, "A few? Liar…"

Inlaya decided to ask with dead seriousness in her voice, "Why have you been distant lately? I know you're shy, but this is too much, even for you…"

It was true; Atlnina had been going further into her shell. Atlnina had always been really shy, especially around William, but she never went so far as avoiding him. She feared they all thought she was morbidly obese and were sickened by the sight of her. She was mostly worried about what William had thought of her.

Aelita pointed out another thing, "You've stopped wearing Lolita and you love Lolita…What's happened to you?"

Atlnina thought in her mind, 'Because a fatty-chan like me can't wear Lolita!'

Atlnina had always loved Lolita fashion and bought things from the two brand name stores in Paris. Kadic Academy was located in Boulogne-Billancourt, which was a part of Paris. It was very convenient that Atlnina lived in Paris, but she thinks she can't do that anymore because she thinks she's fat.

"I just…" Atlnina trailed off, unable to find an excuse.

"What about William?" Inlaya decided to ask. "You've been avoiding him too."

Atlnina's face turned red, which was noticeable because she had been too pale. She stuttered, 'W-What do you mean?"

"Ugh, did you have to bring up William?" Yumi said in a disgusted tone.

Aelita said, "Yumi…"

"No, I hate him! End of story!" Yumi retorted coldly.

Atlnina felt very hurt by her comment about William, but decided to not say anything, fearing the worst. 'Count your blessings, Yumi; he loves you with all of his heart…'

Inlaya said, "Okay…we know you and Ulrich despise William for whatever reason, but that…"

Yumi stomped away in anger and thought bitterly, 'I will never forgive him for he did on Lyoko! He's just a stubborn, arrogant, hopeless-romantic, Casanova…He's just…a freak!'

This left Aelita who told them, "Our group hates William for a personal matter…" But she couldn't tell them the truth, knowing that Lyoko would be forever a secret. Aelita decided to say something that could give the basics of how it was, "I don't hate him and I also think that what had happened wasn't William's fault. But the others blame him and won't forgive him…"

Kandadara said, "I don't know what happened with you guys and perhaps it's not my business to know, but William always seems down nowadays. He's not crying or enraged, but I can see he's sad and angry. He just seems bitter and upset…"

"It's because he hates Atlnina." The voice of the devil came.

"Sissi…" Kandadara's face became a glare of absolute death.

"Why would he hate me…?" Atlnina cried worried.

"Because guys can't stand girls like you!" Sissi sneered at her. "You're fat, ugly, and just so…a wannabe!"

"Look who's talking about being a wannabe." Inlaya defended Atlnina, but then what Inlaya had said was true.

"Ugh, you're popular, Inlaya. Like me, the guys want to get with you, but your reputation will be ruined if you hang out with freaks!"

"I have a boyfriend and I'm faithful to him." Inlaya said. "Pierre loves me for me and I love him too. We've been together since childhood. Relationships are like a garden, treat with care. But I don't think you'd know that."

'Of course you'd have a happy ending, Inlaya…' Atlnina thought sadly.

Sissi said only one thing, "Atlnina, William will never like you because you're a fat slut." With that, she walked away.

"Ooh, you got her good!" Kandadara laughed. "Listen; please don't take what she says as true, Atlnina."

Atlnina finally said icily, "It's easy for all of you! You're not bullied all the time, so how could you know how I feel?" Tears fell from Atlnina's eyes.

"You have no idea!" Kandadara snapped, almost like she was going to cry too. "You don't know that at all!" Kandadara began to cry, but made an effort conceal it. Then she walked away, down in the dumps.

"She's right," Aelita said, "Sissi bullies me a lot too, and you know that you're not her only victim…I know she bullies you a lot, but know that you're not alone…"

"You need to stand up for yourself," Inlaya said with kindness, "William doesn't hate you. I know that much…"

Atlnina walked away after Inlaya said that, leaving Aelita and Inlaya.

"I think she is becoming…" Aelita began. "She looked so sick and frail."

"Yeah…I think so too, which is why we have to do something!" Inlaya finished.

'Atlnina…you really need to go back to the way you were before…But just stand up for yourself…' Inlaya thought.

Meanwhile, Atlnina ran back to her dorm room and she bumped into someone. This time though, the force didn't knock them down. She saw the confused face of William.

Her face turned red yet again. She stuttered out, "I-I'm sorry…"

At this point, she couldn't bring herself to face him, knowing that he hated her, or so Sissi said, which was a lie. Sissi just wanted to see Atlnina embarrass herself in front of William. Before she could go, William grabbed her wrist, which shocked her. She turned to see William's expression was very serious. He said, "Atlnina, why have you been avoiding me?"

"U-Um…what are you talking about…?" Atlnina feigned ignorance.

"Tell me!" William demanded, feeling upset. "What did I do to you to make you upset with me? I thought I didn't do anything wrong!"

Atlnina began crying again, which brought William to shock. She was worried that William hated her or what he thought of her. She squeaked out, "You hate me…" Because William was shocked, she got free from the grip he had on her wrist and ran away.

She couldn't bear to look back at William's pained expression. William thought, 'Why must she keep avoiding me when I didn't do shit! So she thinks that I hate her? But why the hell would I hate her?'

He continued to think. 'Now that I think about, she's been acting really weird lately. What's going on with her? She hardly eats and looks like she's lost a lot of weight. She's hiding something from me, maybe something that I should know about. If I have to, then, one way or another, I'm going to find out what her big secret is...'

* * *

_**This chapter was fast forwarded by a month to see the outcomes of Atlnina's decision. This chapter is rather long. I guess this will be a longer story. Atlnina's beginning to destroy herself and her friends are concerned about her. I'm sure you know what they're suspecting is going on with her. Anyway, I think Sissi bullies Atlnina bit too much. Obviously Inlaya hit a sore spot when she mentioned William to Yumi and Atlnina hit a sore spot when she said Kandadara didn't know what it was like being bullied all the time. I guess I'll add more of the other character's stories in time. But I think we all know what happened between the Lyoko group and William. Speaking of, he seems to be concerned for her. I wonder what will happen later in the story! Anyway, this story seems popular for some reason. Interesting. I hope you like it! Please R&R!  
**_

_**-Alyisha  
**_


	6. A Friend in Need

_**I'm back from a few days of hiatus with this new chapter. I guess this is one of those important chapters because so much happens in this chapter for William. Nonetheless, it took some time with this chapter because it's so damn long. Hope this chapter is good! Thanks to those who reviewed and please keep it up :)!  
**_

_**Warnings: William cusses a little bit (the f word) in this chapter and he seems a little OOC at one of the scenes. That's all.  
**_

* * *

_Chapter 6: A Friend in Need_

* * *

William made his way to find Inlaya or Kandadara to figure out why Atlnina was acting the way she was with him. She was being super shy and avoiding him. Then he finds out she thinks he hates her. He understood Atlnina being shy; because she was that way naturally, but he couldn't stand the idea of another person avoiding him. To him, it hurt like a knife being plunged into your stomach. They had to blame everything on him and they felt the need to crush him like a bug. He still loved Yumi, even when she hates him, but it still hurt. But maybe it was being rejected by his former closest friends that hurt him the most.

He thought, 'I get it now. It was my arrogance on Lyoko and acting like a hero that cost me their trust or friendship. But I wanted to prove myself worthy as a Lyoko warrior. Damn it!' He put his fist to the wall in frustration, knowing the bitter pain he remembered.

God…he remembered it all. The memories of him being possess and the nightmares that haunted him every single night. Then waking up in terror and made his blood run cold. It just paralyzed him and the thoughts at him all the time. He remembered the times when he helped the Lyoko gang, but then they made him forget. But then, they cast him off like some trash. But it hurt so much.

But then his attention shifted to Inlaya, who was passing by him. She looked rather upset, but it was a good idea. William asked her, "Inlaya, may I talk to you for a bit?"

She stopped and turned to him. He saw the look on her face, which was full of worry and sadness. She tried to make it as she said in a faked cheerful tone, "William, what do you want to talk to me about?"

William saw through her facade of forcing herself to seem happy. He said in a serious way, "I'm not stupid Inlaya. You're not normally like this, what's wrong?"

"William, I'm not in the mood to talk about it. I'm sorry. But what did you want to talk about…?" She trailed off.

William asked her, feeling rather annoyed. "Just tell me."

"Okay, I'll try to tell you, but here's not the place. Tomorrow after classes, do you want to go to that one sweet shop near here?" Inlaya asked with a smile.

William raised his eyebrow in suspicion, but he accepted her offer. "Yeah, that sounds fun…" He nodded at her.

"Okay, I'll explain things then…" She told him, said her goodbyes and walked off.

* * *

The next day, after school got out, he grabbed some money and he walked to the "Delights of Sweets" shop. It was your typical shop full of sweets. Perhaps sweet dreams come true for someone with a sweet tooth.

He stood out there waiting for her. He waited for a couple minutes and then a girl's voice said from behind him, "Sorry, did I keep you waiting, William?"

He turned to see Inlaya, whose style of fashion was an all-white turtleneck long sleeved knee length dress with matching knee-high boots. He nodded at her and just said, "It's cool, don't worry about it."

"Should we go in?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah…" He said and with that they went inside.

They got to a table and sat down. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. William eyed Inlaya intensely, making her avoid his gaze. After a moment of awkward silence, William decided cut to the chase and asked, "So why are you down?"

After a moment of silence, Inlaya finally said, "All right, I'll tell you. I guess my two best friends are having issues. The problem is not between them, per say, but people bully them all the time. But how could I know how they feel because I'm supposedly popular?" Inlaya decided to change the subject. "William, you're always so down these days…Is everything all right…?" She trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

'Of course he's not all right.' Inlaya thought, mentally slapping herself.

William was usually not afraid to voice anything out, but nowadays he seems like he just keeps to himself. He always has these sad, angry, and bitter feelings welling up inside of him.

William sighed in frustration, not sure of how to say it. He didn't want to tell anyone, feeling that it would just burden everyone else. He decided to say, "I don't want to bother you with my problems. It's my problem to deal with."

But Inlaya placed her hand on his and replied softly, "If you talk about your issues, I may be able to comfort you and give you advice on how to resolve them…You'll feel better…" She gave a weak smile to reassure him.

William gave in. He knew what Inlaya had said was totally true. He sighed and said in a quiet tone, "Okay, you win, I'll tell you." He paused, running his fingers through his hair, trying to think of what to say. "I'm not sure how to explain this. But it has something to with Yumi, Ulrich, and their friends."

"I figured as much." Inlaya commented. But then she remembered talking to Yumi and Aelita at dinner the previous day. "That reminds me, Aelita and Yumi came up to me yesterday."

William eyes widened in shock and said, "You did? What did they say?"

Inlaya had figured that if she told William how Atlnina felt about him, it would embarrass Atlnina to no end. Or if she had told him her suspicions theories on Atlnina's problem and how William is involved, it would just make William feel even worse. Of all things, she didn't want to tell William that Yumi said she despised him. She said, trying to stray away from the topic, "Well, they were concerned-I mean… Yumi was worried that she would fail the test Mrs. Hertz's gave us today. She wanted me to help her study."

"I have a lot of classes with you, Atlnina, Kandadara, and Yumi. Besides electives, we have all the typical classes together. I don't remember Yumi talking to you at all." William pointed out. "What's really going on?" His gaze narrowed in suspicion.

"William…the truth is that Yumi said she…hates you…I didn't want to tell you…" Inlaya said stuttering and trailing off, not wanting to tell him. She avoided his gaze, but she felt it on her.

"I should've known," William replied, feeling utterly defeated, "I love her, but no, she hates me now. They all hate me like the darkest depths of hell."

Inlaya's eyes went wide and she couldn't find the words to say. After some thought, she managed to say, "William…I really don't know what to say. But I'm genuinely sorry if I touched a sore spot…"

"No, it's not _your_ fault." William replied coolly. "You just wanted to help me, but I don't think anyone can help me now." His shoulders slumped in defeat. He had tried to repress the anger and sadness he was feeling, but now it was about to overflow. He didn't think he could hold it in anymore. 'No, I can't cry or become enraged…No…I can't show weakness.' He thought this, but it was futile. But even so, he made a valiant attempt to fight back tears or scream out.

Inlaya caught on that William's feelings were about to overflow him. She said to him, "William, do you want to go to a more private place?"

William nodded at her and said without looking at her, "Yeah…ok…I guess…"

Inlaya whispered gently, "Just follow me…"

* * *

They quickly left the sweet shop, before even placing an order. Inlaya knew William was at his emotional limit, so she had to take him somewhere where he could release it all. She got out her phone and reached Kandadara's number to text her. She texted her, "Kandadara, meet me by that abandoned house. I need your help with something and come ASAP." With that, she sent it.

Kandadara texted back, "Okay, I'll be there soon."

Inlaya then grabbed William's hand to hurry to the Hermitage. She knew it was a secret place, meaning that no one could bother them there. William said, "Where are you taking me?"

"To the Hermitage…We can talk more there." Inlaya told him.

When they arrived, Kandadara was waiting for them. She noticed William and asked, "William?"

Inlaya pulled her to the side and whispered, "William's at his emotional limit. I figured it's a good idea to let his emotions out here in a private place…"

"Oh I see…" Kandadara replied, feeling sad for William.

* * *

They got into the house and Inlaya shut the door behind her. Then she said gently, "William…if you want to cry…then let it all out. You can cry until you can't anymore. We won't think any less of you and we won't tell anyone if you don't want us to…"

With those kind words, his emotions began overflowing out of him. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He clenched his shirt and gritted his teeth again. He fell to his knees and tears began falling down his face, still clenching his shirt tightly. At that moment, rain began to fall outside.

Kandadara walked over to him, went down on her knees, and then she embraced him, wrapping her arms around him. He was shocked, but he returned the embrace and buried his head in Kandadara's chest. Kandadara moved one of her hands up to gently stroke his hair with her fingers, trying to comfort him. She whispered softly, "William…Shh…it's okay…" She continued to stroke his hair.

'William...for him to be like this, he must be in a lot of pain. He has to be really strong to be able to keep such intense emotions back…' Inlaya thought.

Even though he still had tears rolling down his cheeks, he finally yelled out finally releasing his anger in a rant, "Fuck them all! I loved Yumi, but now she treats me like shit! None of them give a damn about me anymore! I'm treated like a monster by them and everyone else but they didn't understand what I was going through! They back-stabbed me and then left me in the goddamned dust!" He exhaled, feeling like he released much anger at that moment. His tone softened to a sad tone, "They told me I was their friend. But then…after that…they didn't trust me anymore. I never thought I'd get treated like this…"

He tried to keep his composure by not sobbing like a baby, but he still cried quite a lot.

After some time, he finally released all he was holding in. He calmed down a bit and he felt exhausted from all of that.

He broke Kandadara's embrace to stand back up. He said, "I think I overdid it."

"I'm sorry. It seems like you went through quite an ordeal…" Inlaya said.

Kandadara added, "I'm sorry that you went through whatever you went through."

He still had some tears strolling down his cheeks, but he seemed much calmer than he was before. He said, "I had always believed that even if things start badly, they can get better if you give it time…" He gave a small smile of hope.

Kandadara smiled and said softly, "William, I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah…uh…anyway…" He looked sheepish, but he managed to say, "Can you keep this a secret…?"

"Our lips are sealed." Inlaya and Kandadara said together.

"Good…because I'm a guy and I normally don't…you know…explode like that." He said.

"You're still a real man, don't worry about that. You're a human with feelings. Oh yeah, here's a tissue." Inlaya said, and then she handed him a tissue from her purse. With that, he cleaned himself up.

"Okay, thanks. I guess I just needed to let it out." He said, feeling a bit better. Then he came to a realization as he remembered something. He continued, "I wanted to know. Why is Atlnina avoiding me and thinks I hate her? That was the reason I wanted to talk to you. Do you know anything?"

Inlaya said, "She's been struggling through a rough patch of depression. She's bullied a lot by Sissi and her cronies and the bullying has really brought her down."

"Okay, I get that. Atlnina's not herself anymore, Sissi's a bitch, and we know that. But what would it have to do with me?" William asked feeling confused as to why Atlnina was acting so weird. "She's always been so shy around me too."

Both girls knew not to tell him about Atlnina's crush on him. It was a girl's code not to do that. But somehow, it would be believable if he figured she did. Maybe that's why her avoiding him hurts him the way it does.

He still felt like they were hiding something, but he decided not to pester too much at the time. He figured he wouldn't worry about it for now. "I'm tired, so let's go back to Kadic. I'll talk to you about this later, I guess."

* * *

Both girls nodded at him and went with him back to Kadic. On the way back, Inlaya told him, "William, just to let you know, we're your friends." She gave a big smile.

Kandadara smiled as well, and then she added, "So if you ever need someone to talk to, you can come to us.

He said, "Thanks, I'll be sure to remember that." He gave a smile of sincere gratitude.

* * *

After that, they said their goodbyes for the day. William was determined to make things better. He also was determined to figure out why Atlnina was acting so weird and the secret she was hiding.

But then he felt anxious, like something bad was going to happen. It ate at him, but he didn't know why he was feeling this way. Yet because he was tired, he decided to let it go for the day.

* * *

_**Well, that was a really long chapter. But I think it's a key chapter for William. Yeah, I know, Atlnina didn't appear in this chapter, but I wanted to focus on William this time. He still doesn't know about her problem. By now, we most likely know what her issue is. I haven't mentioned the name yet, but I most likely will list it soon. But he foreshadows something, I think. This story is coming along good! Chapter 7 will be posted soon. Well anyway, what did you think of William's...explosion of overflowing emotions? Please R&R and please give suggestions! Thank you!  
**_

_**-Alyisha  
**_


	7. SelfInjury, Premonition, Secrets

**Here we go with the newest chapter! Chapter 7 is here. I don't know about this chapter though, I'm worried that it didn't have enough description or maybe too much in some areas. I just don't want to rush through them. Thanks to LongHairedAelita and the others for reviewing! Hope you like it!**_**  
**_

**Warning: Atlnina has an "emo" scene in this chapter.  
**

* * *

_Chapter 7: Self-Injury, Premonition, Secrets_

* * *

Atlnina remained concealed in the depths of her room. She was really considering on taking up something she shouldn't be doing.

A knife lay next to her, sharp and cold, icy and stern, it was. She glanced at it, wondering if what she was thinking of doing was the right thing. 'Would it be right?' She thought with uncertainty.

But somehow she convinced herself that hurting herself was a good idea. She picked it up and began cutting and slashing at her arms. She cut them until they were deep enough to bleed. Then she clawed at the new wounds, making them bleed worse. She told herself that someone like her deserved it. With that, she said, "Just disappear…You're not wanted here…Don't you get it?" She kept on until she couldn't anymore.

When she was done self-harming herself, her wounds stung and felt as if they were on fire. Blood was all over her arms from the cuts. She cut herself so much that the wounds were plentiful and deep. But then she started feeling lightheaded. She went numb and passed out on the floor, bleeding onto the carpet.

Meanwhile, Inlaya and Kandadara remained worried over William and Atlnina, knowing something would soon happen. Inlaya wanted to think the best, but Kandadara assumed the worst case scenario.

Sissi had been pressing on with the bullying, making Atlnina worse.

Aelita was concerned about what was going on. Like Inlaya and Kandadara, she was able to guess what the issue was.

Jeremie, being the smart guy he was, and just like the 3 girls, suspect Atlnina's lack of eating was caused by a body image problem. But he didn't have any logical proof.

Odd was worried too. She always had a sweet tooth like he did.

Ulrich was concerned, but he still hated on William to really notice any change in her.

Yumi could guess what the issue was.

William suspected many things, but he wasn't sure. He had a bad feeling, but he couldn't guess what it exactly was…

He slowly drifted to sleepy, thoughts weighing heavily on his mind.

* * *

_I was standing in the dorm halls of Kadic, but I was the only one there. No, I wasn't alone. There was a familiar girl standing with her back to me. _

_ "Atlnina…?" I asked, confused._

_She turned to me and I gasped in horror. She wasn't the same girl I knew. She looked sickly and frail, gaunt and delicate, it was almost scary. She avoided my gaze and said nervously, "W-William…I-I…"_

_She tried to run away, but I grabbed her wrist to stop her. I told her in a stern voice, "Atlnina, why are you avoiding me? I want an answer this time."_

_She didn't answer me and she struggled to get free, though it was futile. But then tears began strolling down her cheeks, which shocked me. She cried out, "I love you so much! But you can't stand girls like me!"_

_But she broke free from the grip and ran away. Once again, just like before, but this time was different._

_Suddenly a light flashed and the setting around me changed. I opened my eyes again to see where I was._

_The air around me was cold and had an eerie feel to it. The scenery looked like some kind of hospital and it just added to the dreary mood. I couldn't quite grasp what was going on._

_ Suddenly the hospital's doors burst open. The doctors were rolling a gurney with a girl. Then once again, it was…_

_ "Atlnina…!" I yelled out, feeling worried. Then they disappeared into a room. At that moment, I suddenly felt a feeling of dread. A painful feeling began swelling up in my chest and made its way to my stomach. I felt like I had no energy and the life had been sucked right out of me._

_I opened the door into the hospital room, it all seemed so suspenseful. My eyes widened as I saw her in a helpless state. She wasn't the same girl I knew, that was the base that I could say._

_I couldn't grasp what had been wrong with her. But by what I could see, she was just deathly sick. She had an IV and the nurses were trying to force feed her. She was crying and struggling so she wouldn't eat. She screamed, "No! I can't eat!"_

* * *

William sprang up from his bed, panting with beads of sweet on his forehead. He thought, 'What the hell was that?'

He looked at the clock, showing that it was still really early. He said quietly, "5 a.m., it's still that early?"

But he couldn't help but think about the dream he had. He tried interpreting it in many ways. 'Could it be that she really likes me?' He mentally slapped himself, believing that he was being delusional. 'The dream was weird though. But then maybe it's trying to tell me something, but what?'

Then his eyes went wide, clenched his fist. He came to a realization and it made him feel dense. 'She's crazy about me. That's why she's so shy around me and is always worried about me.' He mentally slapped himself. 'All this time, she's loved me…but I didn't even think that she did.'

'No, there's no way she likes me…Or maybe she does…I guess I'll have to ask her about all of this straight out…'

He got up from his bed and decided to get dressed. He didn't leave his room and waited until everyone else got up. With that, he tried to find Atlnina, but she hadn't come around and was nowhere to be found, making him feel sick with worry.

Suddenly, a painful burning sensation shot up his body. To him, it almost felt like was fire. His legs became wobbly, making it harder for him to walk. He leaned against a wall and placed his hand on it for balance. But with every step he took, the pain got worse. He felt like he was walking on razor sharp daggers.

"William, are you okay?" A voice came.

He turned around to see it was Aelita. Even it was it her, he still put his guard up. He said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"William, I'm sorry for how we treated you." She said nervously.

He nodded at her, but then he became suspicious. "Okay, but it's not your fault."

* * *

Meanwhile, Inlaya and Kandadara couldn't find Atlnina. But then they decided to look in her room.

Suddenly a feeling of dread swept over them. They slowly opened to see Atlnina passed out on the floor.

Inlaya was about to scream, but Kandadara put her hand over her mouth. She said, "Be quiet or you'll attract attention."

Inlaya sighed, "Sorry."

Both rushed over to her to shake her awake. Luckily she was alive, but she was passed out. She opened her eyes but felt pain in her arms and felt really weak. Her body felt like it was drained of its energy. She saw Inlaya and Kandadara looking scared and even furious. She feigned ignorance, "What are you two doing here?"

Kandadara said sternly, "Can you explain this?" She got up to close the door.

Atlnina rose up, but still feeling week. She said, "What's what?"

"You were passed out on the floor!" Kandadara said.

Inlaya also pointed out, "It's been a month, but you look like you lost a lot of weight."

"Oh I have?" Atlnina feigned ignorance yet again, and then she made up an excuse. "I've been down lately, that's all. I'm stressed studying for tests so I can get a good grade. I guess I didn't have much time to eat or I just wasn't hungry."

"How much do you weigh now?" Kandadara asked.

"Um, I don't know?" Atlnina said. "Last I checked…106lbs?"

Inlaya's eyes went wide, "You've lost over 30lbs in a month?"

Kandadara added, "That's not healthy."

'I know,' Atlnina though, 'Maybe another 10lbs would be ideal.'

"Oh I see…" She said nervously.

"Go back to where you were before." Inlaya said. "There was nothing wrong with you."

"But William hates me…" Atlnina said sadly.

"You're wrong." Kandadara said. "We…talked to him yesterday…"

"Y-You did?" Atlnina got scared. "What did he say?"

"Yeah we did." Both Inlaya and Kandadara said together.

"He doesn't hate you…why would you believe what Sissi said?" Kandadara asked.

"No, he wondered if you hated him." Inlaya said. "You've been avoiding him."

"Uh…N-No…I love him…" Atlnina said shyly and blushed.

"You should tell him how you feel…" Inlaya said with a smile.

"Yeah, and you owe him an apology for avoiding him…" Kandadara said.

"I know…It must have seemed like I treated him badly…" Atlnina said, feeling guilty.

Kandadara felt guilty about it all so she added, "He just wants you two to just fix it."

Atlnina felt sunken by William being hurt by her. But she wants to tell him how she feels.

"But, stop trying to lose weight." Inlaya said.

"I just need to lose a little more…" Atlnina said.

"Why are you starving yourself to lose weight?" Inlaya asked. "Are you feeling fat because of the lies Sissi says?"

"But I…am not starving myself." Atlnina lied.

"If you keep this up, you'll get an eating disorder!" Kandadara said, feeling worried that she already did.

"Or is it because you think William won't like you?" Inlaya said, knowing she hit the jackpot based off the look on Atlnina's face. "You know. If he's that bothered by you avoiding him, he might like you."

Kandadara said, "Tell him or else we will."

Inlaya agreed with her, "You're keeping secrets from him."

"Please don't tell him about this! He doesn't need to be burdened by me anymore than he already has…" Atlnina begged.

"Fine…but if you get any worse, then we will…" Inlaya said.

"Okay…then I…will…eat more…" Atlnina said, cringing at the notion of her eating.

'They must be only being nice…They must think I'm still really fat…No…I will not eat and I must keep losing weight…I have to keep it a secret…It's my burden to bear…I'm sorry William…' Atlnina made that vow to herself.

* * *

**Okay, so Atlnina's getting worse and William had a dream about her problem. Though since it doesn't know about the issue she has, he can't be sure if what he dreamed was even accurate. Inlaya and Kandadara know exactly what's going on even though Atlnina is trying so hard to keep it a secret. At this point in time, they don't know about her cutting herself. I guess she has a very bad inferiority complex. Atlnina's lost it and William basically is (at least speculating about) aware of Atlnina's feelings toward him. I think the cutting herself was a bit much though...Chapter 8 should be up in a few days. Thanks, and please R&R! Until next time!  
**

**-Alyisha**


	8. A Talk

**Okay, I've been on hiatus and now I'm back! I'm sorry it's been forever! I was busy in the summer...sleeping in and other things. School started about a month ago and it's my last year of high school! So it's really easy this year because I get like no homework. So nowadays I have too much time on my hands, but I've had a bit of a writers block. Though I'm through it now. Here's chapter 8.**_**  
**_

* * *

Chapter 8: A Talk

* * *

Meanwhile William and Aelita were just standing in silence. Finally he said, "Why is Atlnina acting so weird?"

Aelita replied, "She's…" Aelita let it almost slip. She could tell he was suspicious. "Oops, disregard that…"

"No, I won't." He said in a serious tone.

She gave in, heaved a sigh, and then said slowly, "You win, William. I'll tell you the truth. First of all, you know how Atlnina's always been so shy around you ever since you came to Kadic right?"

He replied, "Yeah, but I just figured that she was just a shy person. I didn't think much of it back then."

Aelita closed her eyes and gave a nod, "You're right, she is a shy person in general, but I think she's the most shy around you."

William put a hand on his forehead, unsure of what to say. He pondered it in his own mind, 'Aelita's right. Now that I think about it, Atlnina's shyest around me.' He became lost within his thoughts.

Aelita cleared her throat, throwing him back into reality. After a pause, he uttered out, "Sorry, I was thinking." But then his tone got serious again, "I want to know what's going on. No, I think I need to know. She likes me right…?"

Aelita looked thoughtful, but said nothing.

He repeated himself, trying to urge her to talk, "Does she?"

Aelita finally answered, "Yes…she does."

His eyes went in shock and he placed his hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating fast. 'I knew it.' He thought. He wasn't able to find the words to describe what he was feeling, which was a rare occurrence for him.

After a few moments, he finally said, "So I wasn't imagining it then?"

Aelita smiled and asked, "No, you weren't. You like her too don't you?"

William pondered her question, unsure of what the answer to it was. To him, he was unsure about his feelings toward her. He was just stuck in a mess in his own love life.

Another thing was on his mind. The girl that he has dreamt being with ever since he first laid eyes on her, Yumi Ishiyama. Even now, thoughts of her consumed him and he couldn't help how he felt. Even if he found out that he liked Atlnina too, he couldn't just forget about Yumi, even if tried so hard to do so. He had believed she was the love of his life. He just wasn't sure.

"I don't know, okay?" He replied. "It's just so confusing. I'm really conflicted right now. I don't know about my feelings towards her."

Aelita saw his frustration and said words to comfort him, "Don't worry."

He sighed in melancholy and then said what he was thinking, "But I can't seem to figure Atlnina out. It just seems like she gives me mixed signals."

Aelita looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean by that?"

"She really likes me, I can see that. You'd think that if she likes me so much, she'd tell me how she feels. I get that she's shy, but she shouldn't avoid me if she likes me so much." He replied.

"Actually…about that…" Aelita trailed off.

"What are you talking about?" William asked, feeling anxious.

"She avoids you because she's afraid you'll never like her back. And that she's a burden to you or she doesn't want to hurt you." Aelita said simply.

"I guess that makes sense…" He said thoughtfully.

"When a girl likes a guy, she can get really shy around him, especially if she's naturally shy and doesn't have much confidence. For girls, it can be nerve-wrecking for us to talk to the guy she likes. I should know…it's happened to me." Aelita explained, thinking of Jeremie.

William thought about it and replied, "Guys like girls with confidence. Sometimes we're shy too."

"I think so…" Aelita said. She rocked her feet back and forth. "By the way, I'll talk to the others for you and see if I can help you fix that."

"Thanks but I'm not sure if they'll forgive me. You can force them to forgive me. Even Yumi…" He trailed off.

"You still love Yumi don't you?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah…Love can make people totally insane." William said looking up at the ceiling. "It can make us do crazy things."

"I'm sure things will work out whether it's with Yumi, Atlnina, or some other girl." Aelita gave a sweet smile. "You seem to feeling better though."

William remembered the day prior where he exploded in anger and sadness. Before, it had built up inside him so much to the point that he wasn't able to anymore. He said, "It's good to have people to talk to."

It was just good to have someone to listen to you. But even so, he was in a mess of his own love life.

* * *

**So this chapter was really short compared to others I've done. Though with this story I'm still having a writer's block so I may not update this one super fast. William figured some things out but is still confused on others. But I will update my other stories and post some new ones. So how was this story? Thanks to the reviewers that have reviewed my story. Thanks! Please R&R!  
**

**-Alyisha**


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